The invention relates generally to processing of sheet-like material and, more particularly, to systems and methods that repeatedly provide requested vertically oriented sheet-like material from vertically aligned insert stations in an insert tower.
With the advent of the xe2x80x9cInformation Age,xe2x80x9d a vast amount of personal data has become available. Along with this information comes the opportunity to more specifically target people with offers designed to address their individual needs, activities, or desires. These targeted mailings have a much higher success rate for achieving a sale than non-targeted advertisements. Naturally, businesses are eager to capitalize on this opportunity. Hence, mailings to consumers have increasingly become more advanced by including more individually targeted offers. Consequently, the process for producing a mass mailing by a company has become significantly more complicated and burdensome.
Inclusion of targeted advertising pieces has dramatically increased the number of different inserts associated with a mass mailing. One classic scenario of a mass mailing includes a company sending bills to its customers. Typically, the bills are processed along a horizontal conveyor belt and ultimately stuffed in a mailing envelope. Insert stations are arranged in a row along the raceway. Each insert station has a vertical stack of horizontally oriented mail inserts. As the bill proceeds down the raceway, each designated insert is placed on top of the stack that includes the bill any prior inserts. Thus, as the number of different inserts increases, the foot-stamp of the raceway correspondingly increases to accommodate the increasing number of differing insert stations along the raceway.
The floor space required by the current demand for inclusion of multiple inserts has increased so dramatically that the current locations for processing mass mailings have become inadequate. Therefore, a need exists for a more efficient use of space for the insertion process. Additionally, not all inserts are appropriate for all customers. Targeted inserts necessitate that some customers receive certain inserts, while other customers should receive inserts more appropriate for their individual circumstances. Hence, more efficient insert stations are required that are capable to, deliver to multiple people differing inserts.
New designs for insert stations also can create new technological obstacles. The shear numbers in today""s mass mailings require optimization of every aspect of any new insert stations. Even small improvements can effect the speed and efficiency of the entire process. Consequently, any part of the insert process that can be enhanced produces significant dividends during the course of producing a mailing that includes numerous inserts.
The current design for insert stations has one vertical stack of horizontally oriented mail inserts. However, improved designs will include multiple stations capable of handling a plurality of differing inserts in the same approximate floor space. These multiple stations may include vertical towers.
Vertical stacks of horizontally oriented inserts in a vertical tower will necessitate several orientation changes from the pulling position at the insert station until delivery to the raceway. Reducing orientation changes not reduces the chance of jams, but can significantly enhance efficiency. Any enhancement in modern high speed operations can create a significant savings in the time required to complete a mailing.
As insert stations become complex, the need for an accurate determination that the system is working properly increases. A detection mechanism that can detect if an insert has been pulled is relatively simple. The detection mechanism only needs to detect the presence of an insert. However, detecting if more than insert has been pulled is more complicated.
Merely detecting the presence of an insert cannot provide enough information to determine if multiple inserts have been pulled. Therefore, a system needs to detect the number of inserts pulled. However, most inserts are relatively thin, and the deflection caused by a thin insert is typically too small to measure accurately. A mechanism that can amplify these small distances would greatly enhance the ability to accurately detect if multiple inserts have been pulled. Detection of pulling multiple inserts is important to ensure adequate inserts are available for the mailing, ensure that the postage on an individual piece of mail is sufficient, and to prevent a system shutdown when the insert stack prematurely empties.
Hence, an improved insert system is needed. This system needs to provide be able to deliver multiple inserts to differing people. In addition, the system needs to eliminate unwarranted orientation changes and can accurately detect if multiple inserts have been pulled.
The present invention meets the needs described above by providing a multiple insert delivery system. The multiple insert delivery system conserves valuable floor space by utilizing vertical insert towers. Vertical insert towers include a plurality of insert hoppers arranged substantially vertically in the towers. The vertical arrangement of the insert hoppers allows for many more different inserts to be utilized by the system in the same floor space. Naturally, the greater number of different insert materials available allows for much more efficient targeting of consumers. Target specific materials naturally increase the effectiveness of the insert.
However, in today""s mass marketing environment, every system needs to operate at peak efficiency. In a delivery system, the elimination of unnecessary changes in the flow path of the materials enhances efficiency. In order to conserve floor space, the transport mechanism with an insert tower transport should be vertically linear. Correspondingly, the insert material is aligned vertically when in the transport mechanism. Therefore, one embodiment of the present invention contemplates initially loading the insert material aligned vertically in the insert hoppers rather than the inserts lying horizontally in the hopper. The vertical alignment of the material in the hopper will eliminate one unnecessary paper direction change. Every direction change increases the probability of paper jams. Likewise, gradual direction changes decrease the probability of an insert jam. Therefore, the insert tower utilizes a multistage turn to rotate the material from a vertical alignment while in the transport mechanism to a near horizontal alignment when exiting the tower. Multistage turns greatly enhance the ability of less flexible materials to be able to make the directional transition.
A major concern of a multiple insert delivery system is the problem of pulling more than one insert from a hopper at a time. The present invention includes several features to minimize pulling multiple inserts. In one embodiment, the materials are loaded vertically into the insert hoppers forming a horizontal queue of vertically aligned inserts. A suction apparatus utilizing a vacuum accomplishes the actual pulling of an insert. The first sheet of the horizontal queue is loosened or separated from the queue by compressed air applied to the base area of the front sheet. This loosening assists the pulling mechanism with pulling only one insert. Additionally, resistance feet apply resistance to an insert when pulled. The lower the resistance feet are set, the less resistance the feet apply to an insert. Firm insert materials need less resistance when being pulled than flimsier material require. The resistance feet can be adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, the distance of the insert material from the pulling mechanism can be adjusted. The closer the suction cups of the suction apparatus are to the insert material, the greater the suction force asserted on the inserts by the vacuum. Therefore, altering this distance can assist the pulling mechanism with pulling a single insert.
In one efficiency-enhancing embodiment, the invention includes a method for detecting if the pulling mechanism grabbed multiple inserts. However, an insert may be as thin as a sheet of paper. An extender bar amplifies the apparent thickness of the insert materials pulled. This amplification enables easier and more accurate determinations of the number of inserts that were pulled from a given hopper.
Those skilled in the art can recognize that a vertical multiple insert tower has other applications than to provide insert materials to be stuffed into envelopes onto a conveyor belt. Any application where multiple differing materials are needed and the area of the foot stamp requires maximization of the space available can utilize the insert tower. Additionally, other mechanisms can be utilized to accomplish any of the described features.
Generally described, the invention is a system for repeatedly delivering sheet-like material to a transport system. The transport system delivers the predetermined sheet-like inserts for continued processing. The system pulls the sheet-like material from insert towers as desired. Insert towers contain multiple insert hoppers. The insert hoppers are arranged vertically in the insert towers in order to conserve floor space.
Another efficiency enhancement is the vertical alignment of inserts when placed into the insert hoppers. Vertically aligned inserts create a horizontal queue of vertical sheet-like material. Pressure is applied to the rear of the horizontal queue to maintain the form of the queue. A mechanical push plate can be used to effectively apply the pressure to the rear of a horizontal queue. A pulling mechanism grabs the first insert. One effective pulling mechanism is a suction apparatus. A suction apparatus utilizes a vacuum to pull an insert. Removal of the pressure differential to the suction apparatus releases the sheet-like material. An air cylinder can be used to extend a suction cup associated with the suction apparatus to the insert material and retract the insert material to the transport mechanism of the insert tower.
A transport mechanism within a vertical insert tower includes a transport belt and a plurality of pinch rollers. The pinch rollers keep the inserts in constant contact with the transport belt. The transport belt delivers the insert material at a substantially constant rate. The movement of the inserts at a constant rate assists the system timing that ensures the process flows without difficulty. The transport mechanism moves the insert through the vertical section of the insert tower and delivers the insert to the delivery section of the tower. The delivery section changes the direction flow of the sheet-like material insert by a multistage turn. A two-stage turn can typically accomplish the objectives of the multistage turn. The first stage of the turn is accomplished by a set of belts that initially changes the direction flow. The second stage, another set of belts, completes the direction flow change from a vertical oriented flow to a near horizontal oriented flow. After the delivery section changes the direction flow from the vertical to horizontal orientation, the delivery section expels the inserts from the insert tower onto a transport system. The transport system delivers the inserts for further processing.
In most situations, only one insert per cycle should be pulled by any one pulling mechanism. Applying compressed air to the base of the first insert sheet of a queue helps separate the first sheet from the queue. Air jets can focus the air to the proper position at the base of the queue. The air jet can be aligned by the rotation of an air tube upon the insertion of an insert hopper. Additionally, a resistance applying foot can be adjusted to assist the pulling mechanism with grabbing only a single insert. The height of the resistance applying foot can be raised to increase the resistance of the material to being pulled from the queue. Conversely, the height can be lowered to facilitate the pulling of the insert. Inserts made of a flimsier, thinner material will need more resistance than a thicker, sturdier insert material.
Efficient operation of the system relies on ensuring the designed flow of the material. Detectors are utilized to determine if the inserts are being processed as desired. Detecting whether a suction apparatus succeeded in pulling sheet-like material is accomplished by miss detectors. Miss detectors can sense the presence of the insert material pulled by the pulling mechanism. Likewise, by sensing the continued presence of the insert material, a determination can be made whether the sheet-like material jammed upon discontinuation of the vacuum.
Another important determination is whether the pulling apparatus grabbed more than one insert. An optic sensor can measure the distance created by a swivel of a pivot arm as the insert passes between a front pinch roller and the transport belt. However, amplification of the created pivot arm swivel enhances the accuracy of the determination. Consequently, an extended pivot bar is utilized. The extended pivot bar is connected to the pivot arm. As the pivot arm swivels, one end of the extended pivot arm pivots a significantly greater amount due to the elongated distance created by the extended pivot bar from the pivot point. Upon an insert passing between the front pinch roller and the transport belt, an extremely accurate measurement can be made, using a light emitting sensor, of the distance between a fixed point on an insert apparatus and the elongated end of the extended pivoting bar. This measurement can be compared to a known pivot amount based upon the thickness of one insert. A significantly greater pivot value indicates that more than one insert has been pulled.
One method for repeatedly delivering sheet-like material to a transport system includes loading a plurality of sheet-like material vertically oriented into the insert hoppers. The insert hoppers apply pressure to the ends of the queues of vertically oriented sheet-like material. In order to assist the pulling mechanism with grabbing only a single insert, compressed air is applied to the first sheets of the queues of vertical sheet-like material. After the first sheet is loosened from the queue by the application of compressed air, the pulling mechanisms pull the first one of the sheets. The miss detectors sense whether the first sheets have been successfully pulled. A different detector senses whether a second sheet has been pulled when the first sheet was pulled from the selected hoppers. Finally, the inserts are delivered to the transport system. The transport system moves the inserts to another location for continued processing.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a delivery system that comprises a frame and a plurality of hoppers that are attachable to the frame in a vertically spaced part arrangement. Each of the hoppers is configured to hold a plurality of sheet-like materials. At least one upper belt is moveably coupled to the frame, with the belt being configured to move the sheet-like materials downward from the hoppers. Further, at least one contact roller is disposed below each hopper, and at least one suction apparatus is associated with each hopper. The system further includes a moving system to move the suction apparatus toward and away from the hopper to grasp and remove one of the sheet-like materials from the hopper, and to move the removed sheet-like material downward until grabbed by the roller. Hence, the sheet-like materials that are removed from each hopper remain in contact with the suction apparatus until moved downward and grabbed by the contact roller and the belt. In this way, the vertical spacing between the sheet-like materials may be maintained along the upper belt by ensuring a consistent spacing as each sheet-like material is removed from its respective hopper and placed into contact with the upper belt.
In one aspect, the moving system may be constructed of a cylinder that moves the suction apparatus toward and away from the hopper. The moving system may also include a linkage arrangement that is pivotally coupled to the frame member to move the suction apparatus in a generally up and down motion. Conveniently, a rod may be coupled to each linkage arrangement so that as the rod is moved up and down, each linkage arrangement is also simultaneously moved up and down.
In another aspect, a biasing roller may be spring biased against the contact roller. Advantageously, the biasing roller may be positioned on the back side of the upper belt. In this way, the spring used to bias the roller may be maintained away from the path of the sheet-like material so that wider sheet-like materials may be delivered using the system.
In another particular aspect, the suction apparatus may comprise a length of tubing and a suction cup that is coupled to the tubing. Optionally, a vacuum transducer may be used to sense the pressure within the suction apparatus to determine whether a sheet-like material has been attached to the suction apparatus. In a further aspect, a pair of upper belts may be employed, and the suction apparatus may include three suction cups that are located in between the two belts and on opposite sides of the two belts. The use of three suction cups helps to ensure that a sheet-like material will be grasped and removed from the hopper.
After the suction apparatus grasps a sheet-like material, the suction apparatus is moved backward so that the sheet-like material is removed from the hopper. To prevent the suction apparatus from moving too far backward, a guide may be pivotally coupled to the frame and may be used to stop backward movement of the suction apparatus. For example, the guide may include a roller that moves behind a block that in turn is coupled to the suction apparatus to stop backward motion and to guide the suction apparatus in its downward path.
Advantageously, an air jet may also be associated with each hopper. The air jets may be arranged to laterally supply air to the sheet-like materials to facilitate their separation.
To ensure that the sheet-like materials remain in contact with the upper belt as they are moved downward, a guide may be used to hold the sheet-like materials to the upper belt. The guide may conveniently comprise a spring biased roller and/or plate that forces the sheet-like material against the upper belt while still permitting the sheet-like material to move along the upper belt as it travels downward.
The delivery systems of the invention may also include a detection system to detect whether multiple sheets were simultaneously pulled from the same hopper. The detection system may comprise a roller that is disposed over one of the transport belts of the delivery system. Further, the roller may be coupled to an axial that is in turn pivotally coupled to the frame. Further, an arm extends from the axle and is in contact with a potentiometer. The roller moves relative to the belt when one or more sheet-like materials passes between the roller and the belt. In turn, the arm is pivoted about the axle. This movement is detected by the potentiometer that produces an electrical signal that is related to the amount of movement of the roller. Hence, the potentiometer may be calibrated to determine the number of sheet-like materials passing between the roller and the belt. Optionally, a trigger sensor may be configured to sense when a sheet-like material is beneath the roller. Upon receipt of a signal from the trigger sensor, the signal from the potentiometer may be evaluated to determine the number of sheet-like materials.